Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou to take turn as rotating chairwoman in April as embattled Chinese tech giant faces increased US pressure

During her six-month turn as the company’s top leader, Meng will head Huawei’s board of directors and its executive committee

She will take over from rotating chairman Eric Xu, whose current term will conclude on March 31

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Meng Wanzhou’s six-month turn as Huawei’s top leader comes at a critical time, as the US government is considering cutting off the company from all of its American suppliers. Photo: Handout

Published: 10:30pm, 9 Feb 2023Updated: 12:00am, 10 Feb 2023

Huawei Technologies Co chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, daughter of company founder and chief executive Ren Zhengfei, is expected to take her turn as “rotating chairwoman” in the company from April, according to local media reports, signalling that a succession plan looks to be in place at the struggling Chinese telecommunications giant.

It would mark the first time that Meng, 50, has assumed the role since she was added as one of three rotating chairmen at Huawei in March last year, alongside Eric Xu Zhijun and Ken Hu Houkun. Xu’s current acting chairman term started on October 1 last year and will conclude on March 31.

During her six-month turn as the company’s top leader, Meng, who also serves as deputy chairwoman at Huawei, will head the company’s board of directors and its executive committee.

Meng was hailed as a national hero upon her return to China in a chartered flight in September 2021, following nearly three years under house arrest in Canada where she fought extradition to the US over a bank fraud case. Under a deal reached with US prosecutors, that case and other charges against Meng were dismissed last December.

The original reports online about Meng’s turn as rotating chairwoman were deleted, but has since been widely picked up by various Chinese media outlets. Huawei declined to comment on Thursday.

While Huawei has rarely talked about a succession plan, speculation has been rife amid calls made last year by Ren, 78, for employees to focus on the company’s survival and give up on wishful thinking, as the world seemed headed for an economic recession.

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